Tube sizing machine



June 9- L. H. MESSINGER 2,473,383

TUBE SIZING MACHINE Filed Sept. 18, 1946 INVENTOR L155 75/? H. MESS/N659 NEY Patented June 14, 949

" TUBE SIZING MACHINE Lester H. Messinger, Trumbull, Conn., assignor to Remington Arms Company, Inc., Bridgeport, Conn, a corporation of Delaware Application September 18, 1946, Serial No. 697,747 1 Claim. (01. 93-83) This invention relates to apparatus for the sizing of shot shell body tubes and contemplates an improved stop for positioning tubes on a sizing arbor.

In the manufacture of shot shells, it is common practice to cut the paper bodies from tubes of a length of a plurality of such bodies, which tubes are rolled from paper sheets of appropriate dimensions, an adhesive being applied as an incideni; to the tube rolling operation. The rolled tubes are dried and then brought to the desired exterior diameter by pushing through a sizing die. The working surface of the die may be smooth, resulting in smooth-surfaced bodies, or it may be corrugated to produce corrugated bodies of the type shown in the patent to Woodford, No. 1,940,657, December 19, 1933. Since the sizing operation results in a reduction of the exterior diameter, it is necessary that for the purpose of sizing, th tubes be interiorly supported, and for this purpose they are impaled upon a mandrel. The resistance to the endwise movement of a tube through the sizing die is substantial, and it is necessary that the mandrel be provided with an abutment for engagement by the end of the tube. Prior to the present invention, this abutment has been an enlargement or collar secured upon the sizing arbor. Since to enable stripping the sized tube from the mandrel both the tube and the abutment must pass entirely through the sizing die, the outside diameter of the abutment cannot exceed the outside diameter of the sized tube and is thus necessarily somewhat less than the outside diameter of the unsized tube. The tubes to be sized are of a length of several shot shell bodies and th moisture content of the tube stock inevitably varies to some extent with atmospheric humidity. In the past, considerable difliculty has beenexperienced with soft tubes slipping over the abutment collar, the diameter of which is limited in the manner just described.

The present invention contemplates an improvement in the tube stopping abutment which enables the use of an abutment of an initial outside diameter equal to or even greater than the outside diameter of an unsized tube.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View of an arbor, arbor support, sizing die, and abutment embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional elevation substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, the sizing die and tube being omitted.

For a description of a machine in-which the present invention ma be utilized, reference is made to the prior copending application of Lester H. Messinger, Serial No. 601,273, filed June 23, 1945. It is to be understood, however, thatthe invention is applicable to any other type'of machine in which a tube of relatively soft stock is impaled upon a mandrel and sized to a desired exterior diameter by being pushed through a sizing die.

Referring to the drawing, a sizing arbor I0 is secured to an arbor support or stem II by an elongated coupling member 12, there being appropriate threaded connections and abutting faces between the coupling member and the arbor and arbor stem respectively, to insure a rigid structure. The surface of arbor It] may be threaded or otherwise roughened in accordance with the established practice of a great many years. The diameters of arbor l0 and stem H are preferably substantially the same, while coupling or adapter I2 is of reduced diameter to provide a support and. clearance for the collet abutment to be described.

Upon the coupling or adapter 12 is mounted a spring collet identified generally by the numeral [3. The collet may comprise any desired number of segments [4, six such segments having been shown for the purpose of illustration. The unbroken shank portion l 5 of the collet fits upon a reduced diameter portion l6 of the coupling member or adapter I2, and its end face abuts an annular end surface I! of the stem II. The segments or fingers IA of the collet form an annulus of an interior diameter somewhat greater than the diameter of the body portion of the adapter l2 so that the annulus is normally spaced from the adjacent surface of the adapter and is capable of being compressed to a reduced exterior diameter. The exterior end portions of fingers 14 are cut away to form an exterior cylindrical surface l8 of a diameter equal to the diameter of the sizing arbor l0, and a shoulder l9 adapted for engagement by the end of the tube T which is being sized, a fragment of such tube being shown at 20.

The sizing die is of conventional construction, comprising a substantially cylindrical land 2| and an approach angle or throat 22. As clearly illustrated in Fig. 1, the depth of the shoulder I9 is somewhat greater than the thickness of the unsized tube so that adequate endwise support for the tube is assured. As the collet enters the sizing die, the operation of sizing the tube being substantially complete, the exterior surfaces of collet fingers I4 engage the throat surface 22 of the die and are thrust inwardly. Exteriorly, the collet tapers slightly toward the shank I5 so that as much of the collet as is necessary to pass the tube T entirely through the die can be thrust into the die. The provision of the reduced diameter portions I8 of fingers l4 enables the tube being sized to embrace the end portion of the collet and obviates the accumulation of paper shavings between the end of the collet and the endof the sizing arbor Hi.

It will be seen that the invention provides an adequate endwise support for the tube 'I where such a support cannot be secured by the use of any fixed member by reason of-the-faot that the diameter of such a member cannot exceedthat; of a sized tube and is necessarily less than that of an unsized tube. In actual use, the intention has resulted in a very material saving in scrap and down time of machines.

What is claimed is:

Apparatus for the sizing of tubes comprisinea sizingydie having a tapered throat; an arboradapted to receive thereon a. tubetobesized and to be, \reciprocated to thrust a tube thereon through saiddie; a support for said arbor: com- 25 4 prising an elongated member secured to one end of said arbor; and an abutment device for a tube impaled on said arbor comprising a sleeve member surrounding and secured to said elongated member, said sleeve member being slotted from one end to form a plurality of spring fingers biased radially outwardly and adapted for endwise, engagement with a tube on said arbor, said fingers being also adapted for radial inward displacement by direct engagement with the tapered throat of said die whereby the tube engaging ends ofesaidiiingers may be thrust through said die from the throat end thereof and retracted \throughsaid die; to normal position.

LESTER, H. MESSINGER.

KEEEKENCES CITED ,'I h e, igllowing references are of record in the file of this patent: 

